1994 Toyota 4 Runner - Radiators

Series This Old Car - 1994 Toyota 4 Runner - Radiators

Located on 114 Coral Street in Santa Cruz, Polar Automotive and Radiator came recommended to us as experts on all things radiators need.

We had the opportunity to stop by and chat briefly with Greg Woolever to have him share with us a few of his monitoring points when checking on the health of a radiator.

Our first step was to start the engine up and take a look at the monitor inside the dash to see if it was steady, or facilitating. We had not noticed any wild fluctuations previously, so this appeared to be acting normally.

We next popped open the hood and felt all the radiator hoses. They were all warm. A good sign.

We checked the air blowing off the fan and it was warm, as it should be.

When we turned the engine off, the fan stopped, also a good sign.

Greg checked the fan to see if he could feel any oil leaks, and the fan clutch appeared to be functional.

He suggested changing the radiator cap with any radiator fluid replacement, a minor cost to help assure no problems with cap failures.

Greg felt the original radiator clamps on the main radiator hose for proper placement just behind the ridge that exists on the radiator pipes to help keep the hoses in place.

He then took a look at the spillover container to see if it was dirty. It's important to clean this with any fluid change. He unclamped the hose and blew through it to ascertain if it was plugged up, and it seemed to be unplugged.

These quick assessments appeared normal.

We will be monitoring the radiator and returning if any major problems arise, when needed.

In the meantime, we will be replacing the radiator cap, as suggested.